A live-action Sonic movie is coming in 2018 - this is fine, everything's fine

A live-action Sonic the Hedgehog movie is coming in 2018, courtesy of a partnership between Sony Pictures and Sega. Hajime Satomi, president and CEO of Sega Sammy Holdings Inc. (the parent company of Sega as we know it), revealed the news in an interview with The World Folio, framing it as a desire to push the Sega brand into more forms of entertainment.

Satomi calls the film a "hybrid" of live-action and CG. Judging by that description, I'd say we're in for something a little less The Angry Birds Movie or Ratchet & Clank and more in line with The Smurfs, Alvin & The Chipmunks, and Garfield, or even the Sonic Boom commercial you see as this article's header image. Usually when live-action and CG are mixed, there's a human for the audience to latch onto. I wonder if that will be the case here, and if so, who will play the proverbial Shia LeBouf to Sonic's Optimus Prime?

The Sonic movie was first revealed in 2014, as a joint venture between Sega, Sony, and Japanese animation studio Marza. Marza CEO Masanao Maeda said the studio would provide "a fresh take to Sonic, while still capturing everything that the fans love about him." So … no bandages or princess-kissing, then?